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Saturday, July 21, 2012

Where Is The Line For Revolution?

Brandon SmithAlt Market
July 20, 2012
The subject of revolution is a touchy one. It’s not a word that
should be thrown around lightly, and when it is uttered at all, it
elicits a chaotic jumble of opinions and debates from know-it-alls the
world over. The “R” word has been persona non grata for quite some time
in America, and until recently, was met with jeers and knee-jerk
belligerence. However, let’s face it; today, the idea is not so far
fetched. We have a global banking system that is feeding like a
tapeworm in the stagnant guts of our economy. We suffer an election
system so fraudulent BOTH sides of the political spectrum now represent a
hyper-rich minority while the rest of us are simply expected to play
along and enjoy the illusion of choice. We have a judicial body that
has gone out of its way to whittle down our civil liberties and to
marginalize our Constitution as some kind of “outdated relic”. We have
an executive branch that issues special orders like monarchical edicts
every month, each new order even more invasive and oppressive than the
last. And, we have an establishment system that now believes it has the
right to surveil the citizenry en masse and on the slightest whim
without any consideration for 4th Amendment protections.
There are plenty of pessimists out there who would assert that
Americans are totally oblivious to these developments. I have not found
that to be true at all. Millions of people are awake to such issues,
and millions more are, at the very least, angry at the state of things,
though they may not fully understand the source of their distress.
Only a fool would deny that a fight is in the air…
Though the atmosphere of conflict is present, we are indeed
experiencing a pause, a breath, a quiet moment before the breach, and
this is a confusing time for many.
We human beings have a very odd tendency to view our own species as
inherently and irrevocably violent, or at the very least terribly
flawed. However, for all the negative press mankind gets for being
“warlike”, if we look back at history it is much more customary to find
people desperately trying to avoid conflict, not provoke it, especially
if there is an element of tangible risk. Wars are usually not fought by
the general citizenry, or the men who promote the pursuit of
hostilities. They pay other people to fight for them. If they were
ever expected to actually participate in the same battles they lust
after, they would probably change their minds about the whole idea
rather quickly.
Most often the only instances in which common people take up arms and
charge towards combat based on principle have been revolutions. Some
revolutions are based on lies, and some are based on inspiration, but
all of them require men to conquer their own apathy and fear of
confrontation. This is no easy task, and it sometimes takes years or
decades of social adaptation and organization.
The elements of a revolution are synchronous. They are like the
ingredients of a boiling tropical storm. Each vital aspect of the event
must be in place, or there can be no energy or direction. That said,
if an environment is left sweltering and volatile, and this electric
stew is maintained long enough, eventually, a tempest will rise.

The real question is; where is the tipping point? What causes a
population to tolerate or ignore certain crimes by governments, but not
others? Where is the line in the sand that if crossed, turns an
apprehensively meek citizen into an “enemy of the state” ready to lay
down his life against the very system he was born into? The answer is
an intuitive and psychological one, rather than mathematical.
Colonial Americans suffered through numerous and mounting indignities
over the course of many years before taking up arms. They attempted
nearly every method imaginable to counter or reason with British
oppression without turning to violent means. They exhausted every
avenue, legal, political, and social. They held rousing protests. They
decentralized economically and countered British trade controls. They
constructed brilliant legal arguments appealing to the monarchy to
embrace logic. They attempted diplomatic redress after redress. It was
abundantly clear that they did not want a war. When average Americans
consider the revolution that gave birth to our free republic, they tend
to forget the long struggle that was necessary to rally support for a
declaration of liberties. No society, no matter how right in their
position, and no matter how heinous the tyranny, jumps directly behind
the muzzle of a gun to solve the problem. Revolution takes time…
As difficult as it is to rationally gauge the exact moment or
circumstance that triggers revolt, the intensity or build up to conflict
can certainly be felt. That pressure is tactile in America today, and
is becoming difficult to ignore. The reasons are obvious. In the past
10 years alone elements of our government have cemented into place the
“legal” framework to:1) Detain U.S. citizens indefinitely without trial under the guise of enemy combatant status.2) Assassinate U.S. citizens without trial and
without due process under the law, including the very clear requirements
of the treason clause.3) Confiscate resources, including your private property, in the name of national security and preparedness.4) Take control of or eliminate all communications
networks including phone, radio, television, cell, internet, etc. in the
name of national security.5) Unleash a swarm of unmanned Predator Drones over
our homes and towns to make mass surveillance of the public easier. All
without probable cause or the protections of the 4th Amendment.6) Capture, collate, and monitor the communications
of millions of citizens without probable cause or a warrant under the
FISA domestic spy bill.7) Declare martial law without congressional
oversight and embed active serving military amongst the populace in a
law enforcement capacity. This includes the institution of Northcom,
which is a standing military presence in the U.S. whose primary mission
is to quell domestic dissent.
Most of the laws and executive orders that qualify this behavior from
our government have been tested, at least in a limited capacity.
These abuses of power have already galvanized a groundswell of activists
across the country, and I believe that if implemented in a broader
manner, will instigate revolution. Where is the line? I believe the
line will be drawn with these trespasses:
1) Any action that involves the standardization of indefinite
detainment or rendition against American citizens will result in
rebellion. The second due process is thrown out the window and the
right to a trial by jury is revoked, there is not much left for a
population to do but fight back. This includes pre-emptive
assassination as well. The more often enemy combatant status is applied
to get around Constitutional protections, the more exponential public
anger and fury will be. Black bagging people will lead to war.2) Economic mismanagement or deliberate derailment
by banks has been accomplished with the aid and collusion of
government. This has been made abundantly clear by numerous instances
of exposed fraud, including the Libor Scandal, in which the private
Federal Reserve and agencies within our own system have openly admitted
to hiding the precarious nature of our financial situation. Any further
implosion of the overall economy will be blamed on this fraud by a
considerable portion of the public. When people’s wallets and bellies
become empty, it’s amazing how quickly they will get off their couches
to solve a crisis. If they can’t find justice within the system,
history has shown that they will look for justice outside of it.3) The institution of checkpoints, invasive
technology like naked body scanners, and exaggerated law enforcement
presence on a wide scale, will invariably lead to revolt. Dealing with
TSA thugs in an airport is one thing; people fly voluntarily, and when
they do it often involves a particular level of fear and anxiety, which
can be used as rationalization for extreme security measures. Dealing
with blue-shirts on the streets near your home, at the bus stop, or on
the highway, on the other hand, is not going to go over too well. These
tactics have already been experimented with on a small scale. I don’t
care how sheepish the American people appear to be in this era; start
invading their personal space on a regular basis and many will
eventually respond with fists instead of shrugged shoulders.
4) Predator drone fleets hovering over every square mile of the
U.S. is not only completely unacceptable, it is going to escalate
dissent into the realm of revolution. Any society that harbors even the
slightest morsel of individualism is going to think “expedient regime
change” when flying surveillance cameras are buzzing over their
shoulders 24 hours a day. Set aside the fact that many of these drones
will be launched weapons capable. No government has the right to
categorize the whole of a citizenry as potential criminals. “When
innocent until proven guilty” becomes “guilty until proven innocent”,
revolutions become inevitable.5) Martial Law is an impractical solution to any
national crisis. The Founding Fathers understood this well, which is
why they specifically opposed the use of standing armies, especially in
peace time. Under the Constitution, the private citizenry was supposed
to be the disaster reaction force, not government paid centurions.
There were multiple reasons behind this position. First, military
troops are not trained for and do not have the capacity to police a
domestic population (especially their own) in a practical manner. They
are trained to do one thing; dominate an enemy. Second, the citizens
within a particular state or county would have a much better
understanding of that region’s needs and complexities. A military
composed of mostly unfamiliar outsiders would not know or care about how
a local system operates, and would instead try to impose its own
one-size-fits-all methodology. Finally, as apathetic as many people
seem, they still do not like to feel bullied or subjugated. Being
surrounded by armed troops at every turn with the executive granted
legal authority to detain or kill without verifiable cause would make
any man a little perturbed. I do not believe many in the U.S. will
quietly accept a martial law scenario, regardless of the excuse given by
government (terrorism, economic disaster, foreign war, etc.). A move
towards military administration of domestic affairs will lead to
revolution.
The internal strife of a nation is not predicated on the transitory
moods of its people but the attitude of its government. Revolutions are
not waged by happy men in an honorable land. True revolutions are a
product of generations of discontent stemming from dishonest and vicious
bureaucracy. An establishment government facing a wave of discord from
the masses has, in most cases, done something to deserve it. I, like
many, do not relish the idea of a new American revolt, but if I am to be
honest in the face of the facts, I have to acknowledge that the
potential for one within my lifetime is significant. I also can’t say
that it is not necessary. Unless tomorrow brings a miraculous shift in
current totalitarian trends, revolution may be all we have left…